[4K] - Flying Southwest To Every Hawaiian City In One Day - The Southwest Inter-Island Challenge!

[@sla31]

In this video I invite you to join me as I attempt the "Southwest Inter-Island Challenge." The goal was to fly to all 5 major cities in Hawaii, in a single day, utilizing Southwest’s inter-island network of flights. To complete this challenge would mean flying out of Honolulu as early as possible, taking 7 total flights, and having at least 4 connections less than 50 minutes, and having 1 connection of less than 30 minutes. It was an ambitious itinerary that would only work if every flight operated on time. If completed, it would mean flying to Lihue on Kauai, Honolulu on Oahu, Kahului on Maui, and Kona & Hilo, on Hawaii. Well as usual, Southwest delivered and I made every connection, completing the challenge! I can now say I’ve visited every major airport in Hawaii and every major Hawaiian Island in one single day. As always, I recorded the entire day in crystal clear 4K 60fps, so you too can join me on this journey! Also, if the journey itself wasn’t interesting and special enough already, 3 of the 7 flights were operated by very special aircraft. 2 were operated Southwest’s brand new Boeing 737-8 Max painted in the companies original livery and named “The Herbert D. Kelleher.” And one flight was operated by the former “Spirit of Renton,” aka the first Boeing 737 Max ever produced. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the flights! Detailed Times: 0:00 - Intro 0:04 - Honolulu (HNL) - Lihue (LIH) - WN 3695 - N871HK 46:28 - Lihue (LIH) - Honolulu (HNL) - WN 1098 - N871HK 1:26:18 - Honolulu (HNL) - Hilo (ITO) - WN 1088 - N8714Q 2:23:00 - Hilo (ITO) - Honolulu (HNL) - WN 1089 - N8714Q 3:24:55 - Honolulu (HNL) - Kahului (OGG) - WN 1090 - N1809U 4:06:10 - Kahului (OGG) - Kona (KOA) - WN 3195 - N8701Q 4:42:22 - Kona (KOA) - Honolulu (HNL) - WN 2346 - N8713M 5:30:59 - Outro

[@jevierefraingarciafuentes82]

The American Airlines Boeing 777-223(ER) has a livery. Is called "OneWorld Livery".

[@hawaiifiles]

That is a grueling schedule for island hopping... but at least Southwest's 737s have more comfortable seats than Hawaiian's aging 717s. 1. Loved seeing the F22 Raptors taxing by at HNL... 2. Loved the flight to Hilo though going to Hilo you should sit on the right side of the plane. Better scenery instead of boring ocean. Have yet to watch the other segments from Hilo back to HNL and then to OGG, KOA and back to HNL....

[@sla31]

@@hawaiifiles you’re right, the views into Hilo are definitely better on the right, but here’s why I didn’t sit on the right in this case. I wanted to get the best views on every flight and I tried to plan them time-wise where the sun would allow me to get the best views without being on the hard light side. That said, I I was limited based on when flights were offered. Because all of these flights were so close to each other I basically had to keep my camera (iPhone 14 Pro) plugged in all the time and it never had time to cool down between flights. When you sit on the hard light side, which would’ve been the right side on that flight, the temperatures around the window get extremely hot, and will quickly cause the camera to overheat if it’s plugged in. So, I was having to balance where I was sitting with how much battery I had and how hot my camera was. I made the decision to sit on the left side flying to Hilo to get the good Honolulu departure views, and then as you continue the video, you’ll see I sacrificed battery to sit on the left side flying back to Honolulu. So I sacrificed the views going into Hilo to make sure I got the good views of the Big Island going back to Honolulu. It was a balancing act between the heat, battery life, and making sure I didn’t overheat or run out of juice before the end of the day 😂. Hopefully that all makes sense.

[@tomstaudinger1734]

​@@jevierefraingarciafuentes82k u⁸I o0ko. MMB 6th😅

[@jevierefraingarciafuentes82]

​​@@sla31 the IPhone 15 Pro Is gonna reléase in 2024.

[@philpuglise6688]

Very nice (long day for you I'm sure). Beautiful sunset and lights of HNL landing to end the day, thanks for the tour!

[@sla31]

Glad you enjoyed it my friend!

[@AviatorKaden05]

Liked seeing these on instagram! Glad you posted them. Great Videos!!

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend. To be fair, I always do the real time updates on Instagram when I travel. The difference here was that I don’t normally list the videos so soon after taking them 😂. Thanks for watching!

[@ronhyde]

Outstanding, outstanding! Way to go--what a thrill. You always deliver the goods my friend!

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend! I do my best!

[@gmugrumbach]

Look at that sunrise 15:47 ♥♥♥♥

[@scottbridge9391]

WOWOWOWOOWW!! Thank you so much for the Grand Tour of the Hawaiian Islands!! Going to Hawaii sounds very appealing right now. We're expected to have a rain/snow mix tomorrow night and into Monday morning.

[@sla31]

That sounds like no fun at all. You really should book one of those $139 Southwest flights to Hawaii, even if just for a couple days 😁.

[@scottbridge9391]

@@sla31 Back in 2008, we got hit by a snowstorm around the 18th of April, giving us over 3 inches of snow on our front lawn. Up in South Everett, they got 10 inches. That was during the 2-year La Nina that we had from 2007 to 2009. In December 2008, we got a few rounds of snow and temperatures down into the teens, giving us a FULL FOOT of the white stuff on our property. We even had a White Christmas that year.

[@gmugrumbach]

I always wanted to do this on Hawaiian :)

[@sla31]

Maybe I'll do it on Hawaiian next haha. If only Hawaiian still flew to MKK and LNY, then it would be even more fun and challenging.

[@gmugrumbach]

@@sla31 I think if you could pull off all the routes they still fly, I'd be supportive :) The thing for me is being able to ride the 717's while you still can AND hit all the serviced cities in the same day. I want to do it lol

[@unforgiven1483]

Thanks for sharing this beauty.

[@sla31]

My pleasure my friend! Thanks for watching!

[@cherylreichardt]

That's island hopping! What a fun challenge! Great job sharing! Now I'll sit back and start my journey with you!

[@sla31]

Take in all those stunning views my friend, they are plentiful in this video! Thanks as always for watching!

[@isaactxn]

Amazing content, amazing quality, amazing video as always! ♡

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend. I appreciate that, and I’m glad you enjoyed this one!

[@marks127]

This was enjoyable to watch. The scenery flying in and around Hawaii is spectacular; even the clouds look amazing! In June 2022, we visited 4 of the 5 airports showcased here; we didn't fly into Hilo but opted for Kona instead. And, we didn't fly in one day. It was over the course of 2 weeks on Hawaiian Airlines. We didn't have any problem flying with them; all flights were on time. Thanks again for putting this together!

[@sla31]

That’s the preferred way to go about it. You get to enjoy all the islands! As an aviation enthusiast though, this was quite the bucket list feat. Not many people can say they’ve been to all of the main islands in one single day 😁. Hawaiian was king of on time performance in the US for many years. Unfortunately for them, they’ve lost that title this year as their network has been plagued with staff shortages. The last couple of times I’ve been out there it’s been far more reliable to fly Southwest. I tried flying Hawaiian inter-island on two separate days recently and it was a nightmare. Huge delays. And don’t get me wrong, I love flying on Hawaiian. I have Pualani gold status on them. But with their staff shortages, combined with the runway construction going on at Honolulu, and them only scheduling their inter-island flights for 25 minutes on the ground…. Oh man, they were struggling.

[@marks127]

@@sla31 Yes, we've had delays with Hawaiian due to crew shortages. The first time we fly from LAX to HNL, in 2016, we waited over 2 hours for our luggage. It was as if only one person had to unload the entire plane. When we visited in 2022 we decided we would only do carry on. And on the return flight in 2022, we were about to take off when we were told we had to go back to the ramp due to a mechanical issue. 2 hours later, we were finally able to take off. Arriving at LAX at 2:00 AM wasn't a joyful experience. We visited HNL a week in February, on Hawaiian out of AUS, and luckily, no issues.

[@lynnclauss9682]

That was crazy good! You made my day, and thank you.

[@sla31]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MSYAviation]

Amazing video, great views, just prefect.

[@sla31]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@justtravelingandgaming]

Awesome challenge! Amazing that you were able take all those flights in one day. That is good planning and of course the video quality is the best. Keep up the great work! 👍💯

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend!

[@jasonmoors1191]

Finished ITO-HNL--really neat to see that 717 on final. was surprised to see we were holding for takeoff for an usually long time--the pilot applied near-takeoff thrust just to get the plane moving--once we were on the 'piano keys', the pilot seemed unsure of takeoff clearance, a fast taxi--"The hell with it! We're going!" and away we go! Good if brief view of ITO before the cloud cover obscured it--on landing at HNL, cruising over the reef runway--on the turn-off,I swear we hit a pothole! An abrupt 'BOOM' as we cross 22R. Its during the ramp arrival that I'm glad I don't have kids--that baby made clear he/she was NOT happy! Good god! As we passed a company aircraft, there was a shudder as if the brakes were abruptly applied--Does SWA use the MAX exclusively for the inter-island runs and to/from the mainland? One wonders how the company can profitably operate the MAX's on 20-30 minute flights?

[@sla31]

Southwest doesn't exclusively use the Max 8. They do occasionally send 800's to do the job. In fact, when they started Hawaii operations it was their plan to start with the Max 8, and it was basically going to be the first market they used the Max on. Then the Max was grounded and they had to swap gears. They used the 800, but had to shelve plans to start flights from LAS and PHX as the 800 just couldn't do that with the required fuel reserves. They eventually did start service to the islands from LAS and PHX, but not until the Max was back. Occasionally, they'll still send an ETOPS rated 737-800 from cities like SAN, OAK, LAX, or SJC, but on this trip I only saw one 800 out there. As for their profitability, I really don't know if they are making any money on the inter-island flights. But, they tend to schedule the planes to where they do both inter-island and a long haul in the same day. So, they'll have a flight from LAS-OGG and then that plane will operated OGG-KOA-HNL-LIH before the day is over. Or on the reverse, they'll have a plane do LIH-HNL-LIH-HNL-LAX.

[@paulmk5841]

Great challenge. Congratulations on getting this done. Kudos to you & Southwest.

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend!

[@LeeDfined]

So interesting how you put this video out...Im planning an extended vacation to Hawaii in a few years.

[@bradyeverett9225]

Probably my favorite video ever Sky. So many incredible moments in one of the most beautiful spots on Earth, on *the* prettiest aircraft.

[@sla31]

Glad you enjoyed it so much my friend! As always, thanks for watching!

[@joannemcgowan2398]

Thank you for bringing us along on this adventure. Our favorite place to visit, especially Kona.

[@sla31]

It’s my pleasure my friend! Thanks for watching!

[@Ky0927]

Yes! Yes! Yes!!! The Best to do🤙🏾☀️🌺

[@sla31]

Thanks for watching my friend!

[@andrewplysimour7251]

Great video 👍👍👍as usual Screaming baby till the end 😳😳😳😳😳

[@sla31]

I thought we did pretty good on the unruly children front considering all the flights I took haha. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@jasonmoors1191]

Finished OGG-KOA--Again,THIS segment grabbed my attention--of all the airports so far, this one surely has the shortest taxi! Several hundred feet from the gate, we seemingly start the takeoff roll halfway the runway's length but am guessing the load was light and the MAX's engines powerful enough to carry us safely. Looking at that AA 787 next to you during push back,one wonders what hub it flew from--ORD? DFW? CLT? JFK? At KOA, this is the only airport that has no grass anywhere but lava rock! And the best part is there are no jetways but a 'Z' ramp so you can meet the aircraft on its home turf! Nothing beats the warm ocean breeze and the odor of jet fuel! KOA's terminal is open-air, no walls and sealed windows here! The overall climate is such that there is no need for central A/C. I would think at this point, you're on the verge of exhaustion, ready to head to the hotel for food and rest--But wait, there's more! :) In booking these segments, what fare class did you use? Business Select, Wanna Get Away or Wanna Get Away Plus?

[@honolulu.spotter]

AA 787’s come in from PHX and DFW

[@AviationFin]

Nice 👍 Thanks for sharing Greetings from Helsinki ❄️ Finland

[@sla31]

It’s my pleasure my friend! Thanks for watching!

[@XxLiLGiJoE17xX]

Absolute amazing work and great views and timing! I was thinking it would be a hop to each of the airports but man going back too Honolulu twice would've had me stressed out, haha. Nice catch with the 777x parked there in Kona at 4:41:40!

[@sla31]

It did stress me out haha. Especially considering 8L is closed, so you have to taxi all the way out to the reef runway for every departure. 8L is technically open again, but it's a much shorter version of the runway, while they work on rebuilding it from the other end. I saw a couple planes use it for departure, but none of my flights did. That's a long taxi out to the reef runway. And I didn't know the 777-9X was Kona. Of course, I saw it when we arrived. I just saw Boeing post this morning that it was back home after spending two weeks there doing engine oil cooling tests.

[@heatherstub]

@@sla31 Wow! Nice catch, and as always, this is fantastic! On another note, I'm working with an 8-year-old computer which I'm going to have to replace, and every time I try to create a comment at the top of the comments, my poor, old computer stops working properly. I'm backing it up, but I need more space which I could add to it, but that's expensive. So in the meantime, I'm having to put my comments in the reply option. I don't have any other choice yet, so please hang with me. I plan to get a new one once Windows 11 is more compatible with JAWS, my screen-reading software. Don't you just love technology when it works?

[@WarriorMike20]

Dam, the pilot swung that badboy onto the runway outta Lihue, seemed like he had TOGA power already applied before ya'll even fully lined up😂 Prestine vid, as usual Skylite.

[@sla31]

Thanks my friend. Yeah the rolling takeoff at LIH was easily the most aggressive rolling takeoff I've ever been a part of haha.

[@WarriorMike20]

@@sla31 I don't doubt it. Yanking y'all around, showing signs of idgaf I'm an ex military F16 pilot. 😖😅

[@ethanslafsky5343]

This was such a beautiful video! Pretty interesting to see the 777X at Kona too, also if I’m not mistaken, was that an Air New Zealand A321neo at 4:38:40?

[@sla31]

The A321 at Kona is even more rare. It’s the Four Seasons resort A321. A plane most of us will never get to see the inside of haha.

[@LeeDfined]

That taxi was soooooooooo long...but that sun looked so beautiful. Pilot didnt waste no time getting up in the air. My goodness.

[@supra19851]

I did not know SWA had inter island hopping in Hawaii that's freaking awesome. It makes me wanna transfer, lol. Watched the whole thing very cool.

[@sla31]

Thanks for watching my friend!

[@chrisbullock9652]

I enjoyed the video. I used to work as a flight attendant a long time ago. How long was your day from check in until deplaning the last flight? It had to be close to 12 plus hours.

[@sla31]

My alarm to head to the airport went off at 4:30am, and I got back to the hotel at around 8:30pm. Roughly 16 hours, give or take a bit. By the time I got back to the hotel I wasn't really keeping track anymore haha.

[@chrisbullock9652]

@@sla31 Reminds me of the good ol days.

[@spb19aviation]

As an aviation enthusiast I would love to do this one day. Thanks for a great video man.

[@sla31]

It’s always my pleasure my friend! I’m always happy to be able to share these crazy challenges with you and everyone else! Enjoy the flights!

[@Roman-LW16_24]

Amazing video as always! Also mid America is under a severe weather outbreak so wish you guys luck! Here in the uk we also have 50mph winds and some heavy rain!

[@sla31]

We got the severe weather where I live yesterday. A lot of tornadoes and strong winds. It’s moved on farther east today, so it looks like Tennessee, Kentucky and others are going to get it today. Stay safe out there everyone!

[@taxiviaalfa]

Climate change 😕

[@sla31]

@@taxiviaalfa well I don’t know about the UK, but for us in the middle of the US, this is an occurrence every year as the seasons change.

[@jeremy1350]

Hello Traveler. Is that the only way to fly inter-island, with HNL being either a (starting point/connecting point) to get to the other islands. There was only one leg that you hopped islands, and did not have to go through HNL ! Are there little puddle jumpers that fly inter-island ?

[@sla31]

For the most part, yes. There are a few other services that Southwest and Hawaiian offer from OGG to the other islands, but they're much fewer and far between than those offered from HNL. Of course, Southwest uses their 737's and Hawaiian uses 717's for their inter-island flights. There is Mokulele Airlines that uses Cessna C208 Grand Caravan's but they don't fly to all the airports, and they're really more the airline that connects the smaller islands to OGG and HNL.

[@jasonmoors1191]

Finished HNL-OGG--now THIS was interesting! On pushback, there seemed to be a last-minute request of the driver of a baggage belt loader to act as a 'wingwalker'--he accompanied us for a distance, then swung away to work another flight.. During descent and final, the pilot seemed to find ways to slow the aircraft, using speed brakes, flaps and finally dropping the gear earlier than usual--a LOT of drag! As we crossed the coastline, i could see an island in the hazy distance--what island was it? Looking at the terminal/ramp layout, it seemed like there were no assigned gates for the various carriers--noticed AA''s planes parked next door to you as well as further to the right--interesting how at no point did the FA ever refer you to flying to Kahalui but to 'Maui'. Observation--There is a STATE of Hawaii but also there is the island of Hawaii--so one could be in Honolulu(Oahu) and declare he lives on Hawaii and he'd be correct. Your next-to -last segment will be interesting as well! :)

[@sla31]

The island you can see in the distance when crossing the coast is Moloka‘i. And no, the gates are always kind of jumbled up in Kahului. I don't know why, but sometimes it seems like they just stick people wherever they can haha. As for the Kahului/Maui debate. Almost every airline and crew refer to it as Maui and not Kahului which is weird because they refer to Honolulu when flying there, not Oahu. When flying to Kona or Hilo, they're referred to as Kona or Hilo, not The Big Island. Aka Hawaii Island as you mentioned. But, how many people would know where Kahului is? Everyone knows Maui is Hawaii. Even on the departure boards at airports OGG is often listed as Maui.

[@ketankshukla]

I really enjoyed how fast they were taxiing on the Honolulu runway toward the takeoff - that felt like 3 miles from the gate to the takeoff!! Never seen a taxxing that fast or long!

[@sla31]

I agree, that one flight from HNL-OGG... Boy, they taxied fast! I don't think I've ever seen anyone else taxi that fast.

[@theaviationloverroams1545]

Average southwest taxiing

[@JmanAviation]

You got to fly the desert gold again! I’ve only seen this in person at Seattle. I recently did Two island hoppers on southwest from Lihue to Honolulu then Kona. The scenery was just amazing especially leaving Honolulu.

[@sla31]

Nothing beats Hawaii’s scenery! And today (well the day in the video) has some great weather to accompany the challenge, so there’s a lot of great views throughout this video. And yeah, I for lucky getting Herb One again! I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it scheduled for two if the 7 flights.

[@trevonduncombe5866]

This was a great video! Have you ever thought about international flight videos? Like Caribbean island hopping? (Just a suggestion) KMIA>MYGF>MYNN>MYEG>MYNN>KFLL

[@sla31]

Yes, all the time. International flights is a big part of my channel. But it's also expensive to travel internationally, so I have to limit my number of trips. I pay for everything you see on here out of my own pocket. Last year also I flew to Iceland, Germany, Switzerland, France, The Netherlands, Micronesia, The Marshall Islands, Japan, and Singapore. I had two trips to the Caribbean planned. Unfortunately, both ended up being right when hurricanes went through each area. So, I'm hopping to use the credits I have from those trips this year.

[@jasonmoors1191]

Ok, just finished the HNL-ITO segment--good catch on those F-35's scooting by your HNL gate--another LONG taxi to the reef runway--interesting how far inland ITO is, at least on final. With all your shuttling back to HNL, what do you do for mealtimes? Do you settle for the overpriced food vendors during your short layovers? Surely the inflight snacks don't do justice for your appetite! The ITO central seating area has odd sofa-type furniture, almost like something you'd see in a private home. Who do you think has greater market share for inter -island flights, SWA or Hawaiian?

[@sla31]

I'm traveling all this week, so i'm a bit slow replying to comments. But I have seen the others and I'm trying to get to as many as I can before my next flight haha. So, if I don't get to your others, I will, but it may not be tonight. The F-35's in Honolulu are actually F-22's. Which I believe I heard recently is the most expensive defense budget ever at this point. In terms of how much money it's sucked up over the years. I believe I also heard it was the same jet that took out that Chinese ballon over South Carolina. And that was its first actual "non training" takedown since the program started. We sured paid a lot as taxpayers for a ballon poper haha. Also, sadly the runway right next to the terminals is closed for reconstruction, otherwise yo wouldn't have to taxi that far on every flight. As for food. I typically only eat one bigger meal every day when I fly. Usually dinner. So, I typically don't eat much during the day when I'm flying. I may grab a bag of chips or something, but otherwise, I usually wait until I get back to the hotel and get something close or have uber deliver it. As for market share, Hawaiian definitely still rules there. Southwest is making gains, but Hawaiian is still King. Hawaiian has 25 daily HNL-OGG departures. Southwest has 11 right now. And it's that same way for every route.

[@АлександрЯщук-х9з]

Дякую за чудове видео!!!!!!

[@jevierefraingarciafuentes82]

I love hawaiian citys.

[@sla31]

They’re some of my favorite places to visit!

[@jevierefraingarciafuentes82]

​@@sla31 Of course. Also the American Airlines Boeing 777-223(ER) has a livery. Is called "OneWorld Livery".

[@anjustash]

gosh so many airports in hawaii

[@sla31]

Well, when there are no roads or boats between islands, flying is the way to go 😁.

[@larrywilson7848]

Really like this one, first the fast taxi before takeoff from Hnl to Ito and the beautiful sunset at 05:03:54.Hope I got it right.

[@sla31]

You did indeed my friend! I sent the April channel update earlier. It seems we may have been having an issue getting communications to each other before, so if you didn't get my reply let me know.

[@larrywilson7848]

@@sla31 got it. thanks

[@MSYAviation]

What was the full trip. Like I remember it started in TUL right?

[@sla31]

Oh, let's see if I can remember without going back and looking. Edit: I could not remember haha. It was: TUL-PHX-LGB-HNL-LIH-HNL-ITO-HNL-OGG-KOA-HNL-SAN-LAS-TuL

[@ksbear2]

When your first 2 flights are on the Herb Kelliher, you know it's goihg to be a good day.

[@sla31]

Absolutely!

[@jasonmoors1191]

Because this video is so long, I will comment on it by flight segment--just finished the HNL-LIH segment--was it by pure luck that you flew the 'Herbert Kelleher' or did SWA have a 'heads up' knowing of your 'challenge' and purposely scheduled this a/c? That pushback,quite the distance! The 'wingwalker' became the 'wing-rider', noticing how he rode a pushback tug up to a certain point. Were we driving or flying to LIH? :) The taxi to the 'reef runway' is lengthy! No doubt Hawaiian competes on this route, I believe it was a 717 behind us as the takeoff commenced. Upon arrival, odd that there wasn't a continuation to another island, simply turned back to HNL! Were you aboard back to HNL? Layover time?

[@sla31]

So, Southwest did know this ahead of time, but I never requested any specials, nor did they ever tell me it was planned. As far as I know, it was just by chance. N871HK and N872CB (the other special 737-8 Max) are in Hawaii pretty frequently now. But, that doesn't mean that someone at Southwest who knew about this didn't do it because they wanted to get that 4K footage on Herb in Hawaii haha. As for the pushback. It is quite common to get LONG pushbacks at HNL. The terminals are quite large because every single gate has the available footprint for a wide body to part at it. And then, just like every other airport with this style of design. You don't want to clog up the alley by pushing a plane back and then having to wait for it to start up and move out of the alley before another aircraft can move in. You end up seeing a lot of wing riding at HNL haha. Also, the runway right next to the terminal, with is 8L is currently undergoing a reconstruction. So every flight gets to taxi wall the way out to 8R (the reef runway). Makes for long taxis at HNL right now. As for any continuation. Southwest actually dons't offer any inter-island through flights. They offer some through flights on like LAS-OGG that then continues on to KOA. But all of their inter-island originating flights unique flight numbers.

[@RoadsOfAsiaBen]

Great fly! If you're reading this, please tell me you didn't get injured by a massive tornado outbreak last night. Hope your wife or your child didn't get hurt or worse get killed by a tornado. :(

[@sla31]

Don’t worry my friend. We’re all fine. I’ve lived here for 26 years, and we have a steel lined safe room to keep us safe should the worst happen. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@michelemoore8951]

We’re fine here in Texas….first place when I fly again is Hawaii!!!❤ I send my prayers to all those that have been impacted by these storms🙏

[@sla31]

I’m happy to hear that my friend!

[@BigAngryPhil]

Nice job. Does it seems like Southwest has taken over the inter-island market from Hawaiian? Also noticed that Rwy 8L at HNL is getting a resurface, that runway was pretty rough.

[@sla31]

They definitely haven’t taken over the market. Hawaiian still has more flights and their flights seem to be full more often. I think a lot of the local population still chooses Hawaiian because it’s the local airline. Southwest does seem to be making a lot of progress though and there’s no doubt their presence has brought ticket prices way down.

[@shivanshjha]

Hawaii is literally a PARADISE .....

[@aviationcentral6742]

This was a good one thanks for so much and everything you do and the 737MAX was the perfect plane fkr this!

[@sla31]

I’m glad you enjoyed it my friend! Thanks for watching!

[@aviationcentral6742]

@@sla31 Thanks

[@TheFamilyman7]

Thought you'd grab a LIH-ITO but I looked it up later and found that non-stop doesn't exist. Even the crews change on the inter-island service so I guess you worked harder than the flight attendants this day. (CHUCKLE) Try and squeeze in the Caravan service to Molokai when you can. ITO-HNL; Not everyday one sees snow on Mauna Kea. At 2:51:05, even with the outer flap pontoon, I believe I can barely make out KOA.

[@sla31]

Yeah LIH and ITO are kind of the outliers that don’t have nearly as much service as the others. And that’s why the OGG-KOA was so important on this trip. Without that extra service connecting those two cities, I’d have to go back to HNL for every city and you’d never be able to do them all in one day. Hence why I did LIH and ITO first on this trip. To get them checked off before those afternoon flights from OGG to the tiger islands. And I never claim to fly more than the crews, but… I think it is fair to say I did on this day hahaha 🤣.

[@TheFamilyman7]

@@sla31 Absolutely !!

[@jasonmoors1191]

FINALLY--KOA-HNL! I would think at this point, you're in a near-zombie state, having been up before daybreak--seeing two company aircraft, using the AA A321 as a guide, the MAX next to you was your inbound a/c and from what the FA indicated on arrival at HNL, your flight was LAX-KOA-HNL--anybody who was your flight going to HNL also had a long day! Using the sunset as a directional guide, we took off to the south, an immediate turn to the north and continuing that heading until the approach to HNL-- I thought it unusual for the captain to have the wingtip strobes on continually during gate arrival. So, did you depart for home the next day, exhausted but happy? During the infamous 'meltdown',do you know if SWA's Hawaiian operations were affected? I know mainland flights were canceled by the dozens but what of the Aloha State? How many hours difference is there between Honolulu and Joplin?

[@sla31]

Well, I don't know why but your whole comment has a line through it, so let's see if I can read it haha. I was very tired at that point. Zombie state is probably a great way to describe it haha. And you're correct about the direction of departure. As for the next day, I did depart for home, but only made it to San Diego. Living in Kansas and having to fly out of MCI or TUL, it's very difficult to get all the way home in one day form Hawaii. Even if you take a 7:00am flight to LAX, it's 4:00pm by the time you land. By the time you could actually connect it's 5:30pm and most of the flights to MCI or TUL have already left. So, I had to stay overnight in San Diego and then fly the rest of the way the next day. I honesty don't know if SWA's island operations were effected by the melt down. But, I'd imagine so. They typically have flights come in from the mainland and then they do some island hopping before going back. So if their mainland operations are a mess, their inter-island network is probably effected. The time difference between Honolulu and Joplin depends on the time of year. Since Hawaii doesn't observe daylight saving time, it changes based on that. So right now it's 5 hours different, and then it's 6 hours different once the time changes.

[@JetBlueRhys]

I saw a B777x in your landing to KOA 😮

[@sla31]

You sure did. At the time, it was there performing tests at Kona as part of its certification process. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@JetBlueRhys]

@@sla31 Always!

[@gnxr400]

Hey have you tried the lemon lime prime energy drink?

[@sla31]

I haven't, no. I actually don't drink energy drinks. The closest I ever get to an energy drink is a Pepsi haha.

[@gnxr400]

@@sla31 have you tried Prime hydration drink it is 10% coconut water

[@michaelsharp3615]

Do 8 flights in one day next!!!

[@sla31]

Well, it was near impossible to do 7 on some of the shorter routes in the US. 8? Challenge accepted 😂.

[@taxiviaalfa]

Only MAX aircraft! I wonder if Southwest flies the 737NG in and around Hawaii or if they only use the MAX for those flights

[@sla31]

They primarily use the Max, but occasionally you’ll see an ETOPS rated 737-800 out there. They use them every once in awhile from the west coast flights.

[@JJADVENTURES2011]

I went on a 737-800 on a route Koa-Hnl in 2022

[@Saa42808]

👍

[@sla31]

Thanks for watching my friend!

[@AE.rojet_aviation]

You recorded all takeoffs in one day? My hands hurt after recording for 5-10 minutes

[@sla31]

Yes, all of these flights were on the same day. The video is 5.5 hours long because that's how long I was actually onboard flights, but with layovers and getting to/from the hotel, it was a 16 hours of total travel time.

[@joshuafajardo646]

I subscribed to your channel

[@christhordsen7305]

I bet you’re exhausted after traveling all day long!

[@sla31]

It was a very tiring day! But well worth it!

[@coyotelong4349]

46:51 “The prize is- I got a couple of prizes here, there are gonna be a couple of Southwest airplanes here that you guys can have.” So Southwest is just randomly giving ownership of its aircraft to passengers in the terminal now? 😂 Very generous of them considering a 737 MAX8 is worth over $120M, but how would I get mine home without knowing how to fly it?

[@sla31]

😂

[@Simplymike2024]

It must cost you a fortune to buy Eight tickets for you to go to every city in Hawaii

[@sla31]

Although I do pay for everything you see on here out of my own pocket, this was actually not that bad. One of the main things Southwest has done in Hawaii is bring fares way down. When Aloha Airlines went defunct in 2008, Hawaiian Airlines basically inherited a monopoly on inter-island flying. There were some small challengers over the years like Island Air, but nothing that really competed. In the subsequent 10 years, inter-island fares went WAY up in price. You were getting a good deal if you found two $150 one way fares and did a round trip inter-island hop for $300. For over a decade, Hawaiian Airlines enjoyed very little competition, while raising fares over and over again. Southwest entered the game in 2018 and vowed to aggressively compete with Hawaiian to force airfares back down. So, since Southwest started inter-island service, tickets are now between $39 and $59 one way. So you can easily do a round trip for $80-$120. More than half off compared to what you used to have to pay when it was just Hawaiian. I was able to get all 7 of these flights for $39, so roughly $275. Not bad for 7 flights. All 7 flights for less than one round trip on Hawaiian before Southwest came in. Now, some locals, and Hawaiian Airlines, argue that Southwest as the "outsider," is hurting Hawaiian with these fare wars, but I don't buy that. Most of the inter-island traffic is locals. Locals who work on Oahu during the week, but live on one of the other islands. Or locals flying to see family or going on a quick vacation on another island, etc. For 10+ years Hawaiian Airlines, the "local" airline, took advantage of the locals, and made a lot of money off the people they supposedly serve and represent as said local airline. There are no roads between the islands, and there are no ferries between the islands. If you need to fly between islands, you have one choice.... To fly. Southwest came in and said, "you (as a local) shouldn't have to fork over $300 on a 15 minute flight every time you want to visit grandma on the other island." Southwest may not have a crew base in Hawaii yet, but they still brought in t a ton of good paying jobs, and are giving people an option people to travel between islands for WAY less than they were before.

[@bradleysika]

Boo happy April fools day haha

[@sla31]

It is April fools day, but nothing in this video is a joke 😁.

[@bradleysika]

Sorry I was so excited to scare you

[@michaelsharp3615]

Out of the 7 flights the crew was the same for the 1st two and last three flights